Her stuffed ferret was trained to bite her when it rang.
There was this lady in lawshool with me at UF who brought her dog (a boxer) with her to class for the same reason (anxiety). I don’t know that there was a single disruption, but it did makle for some interesting chatter for the first few weeks of any new semester.
it was set on vibrate
You bastard. That poor woman screamed her fingers off, and all you did was laugh.
Can’t they get her a service dog to take with her?
Otherwise, what happens to classmates that are allergic to animals like ferrets?
I feel for her-I have an anxiety disorder, and it’s hell, but there have to be other options than ferrets.
I often think I’d love to bring my part-time-owned Pomeranian to work with me. Don’t think I have a case, though.
Hahahahahahahaha! That made my day.
Sorry?! You are my new best friend.
That’s very big of you.
No. That was a comment about how she feels in her current situation in which she is not allowed to have the ferret. She’s suing because she feels she needs the ferret to help her cope with her medically-diagnosed psychological condition.
I must admit, i’m not quite sure why all the hostility towards someone who is in such a condition. According to the linked article, and to a bunch of others i found using Google, Sevick has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder which is, i believe, recognized in the DSM-IV. She PTSD is, according to this story, related to depression, which is also a medically recognized condition.
It might well be true that the school is within its legal rights under the ADA to refuse her permission to have the animal, but that doesn’t mean that the ferret doesn’t fulfill a genuine need, or that she is just some selfish crackpot who wants to take her pet to school. The ferret is, according to this story, registered with a service animal organization and has identification.
It seems to me that the school could meet her half way, allowing her to have the ferret in her dorm room, but not to take it to class. Although i guess another issue would be whether she shares the dorm room with anyone; if she does, that person should get a say in whether the ferret is allowed to stay or not.
Ok, now I’m cracking up.
What it boils down to is this: to be recognized as a service animal, her ferret would have to be task-trained to respond to very specific medical needs as well as mitigating her disability (i.e. allowing her to go about a normal day, like everyone else). Currently, no ferret has that status though quite a few (along with pet rats) have been successful in becoming Therapy Animals and Emotional Comfort animals. Neither of these two categories qualify the animal as a service animal under the ADA.
This particular young lady would probably fare better with a service dog than attempting to pass off a ferret as a service animal. I don’t wish anybody with an anxiety problem to be “laughed out of court” - Truth is, the animal’s companionship may well be what gives her the ability to head out to class every day. Unfortunately, under the ADA, that’s not a task.
This is a huge debate right now in the service dog training community - for psychiatric care service dogs, is “comforting” someone who is having an anxiety/panic attack a true task? Most say it’s not, as it’s a function any animal (emotional support, therapy, pet) could have and not a specific trained trait. Once the animal is trained to go one step further - bring medication, find help, guide to a safe spot (sensory overload situtations), brace, steady, whatever - then it’s perfectly safely covered under the ADA.
As a person who’s been around service animals for quite some time, I can say that I’d have a VERY hard time making a ferret qualify as a service animal under the rules of the ADA. It’s hard enough to make a dog qualify, in anxiety support cases…
This is something I’m skeptical about. What service animal organization is going to register a ferret, especially one without specific training? (It’s an assumption, but the lack of information in the article about specific training makes me think the training is nonexistent).
From the Department of Justice
Not a pet. Does anyone doubt that this ferret is her pet? Does this ferret sound as if it’s performing any function or task? Being fuzzy is not a task.
I’m all about the animals, y’all know that. But her demand is silly, and her taking it to the courts is a waste of our time. She needs to find a coping mechanism that does not involve the courts, and it’s proper for her to be criticized for wasting the court’s time like that.
Daniel
I’m sure you’re completely correct. But my position was not that her ferret does or should qualify as a service animal under the ADA. My point, rather, was that the school doesn’t have to refuse her permission to have the animal just because it doesn’t qualify. The school can presumably make an effort to determine, by talking to her doctors etc., whether her psychological need for the animal is sufficiently high to warrant allowing it.
As i said, i think that taking it to class is a bit much, but i really don’t see the harm in having it in the dorm, especially if she has a room to herself or if her roommate agrees.
No, in terms of its official classification, i don’t doubt that the animal is a pet. But that doesn’t mean that its simple presence does not fulfil some psychological need brought on by her condition.
I tend to agree that taking it to court is rather silly and pointless, even if only for the reason that it seems clear that the relevant law is not on her side. My original point, however, was merely to take issue with the people who seem pretty unsympathetic to her plight, and who are painting her as merely a selfish moron.
Although the fact that she’s majoring in public relations and marketing suggests that it’s not totally out of the question. 
Well, for what it’s worth, the video linked on this page shows the ferret’s identification. The ID card says SARA, so i Googled and came up with the Service Animal Registry of America which, despite the impressive-sounding name, appears to be a pretty low-rent organization operating out of a P.O. box in Midlothian, Texas.
The registration issue isn’t really going to decide anything anyway, because if an animal qualifies under the ADA, then registration is not required, and if an animal doesn’t qualify under the ADA, then registration won’t make it qualify. So, SARA seems to be in the business of making $30 a pop for effectively useless registrations (and $15 a pop for duplicate cards or certificates).
If I was a college student suffering from PTSD, Id’ find that the having 22 year old, naked co-eds, covered in chocolate and marshmallow cream and rolling around on 400-count Egyptian cotton sheets while listening to the Shanghai String Quartet, had a wonderfully soothing effect on my psychologocal condition. But I’d draw the line at taking them to class with me.
It sounds less like PTSD than it does being too immature to cope with being away from Mom and Dad. According to the article, she’s had infrequent attacks since she’s been at school without the ferret. Maybe she’s growing up.
If ever i need an asshole’s psychiatric diagnosis based on third hand information over the web, i’ll be sure to contact you.
Anytime, free of charge.
Maybe she could switch to a more easily concealable animal; a gerbil, perhaps.
Someone with depression, anxiety, and panic attacks is probably ill advised to seek a career in public relations and marketing.
Then you weren’t reading the same article I was: